Another Larrabee Party
by Sara K M
Summary: Set eight years after the movie ends. Now married and living in Paris, Sabrina and Linus return to the Larrabee Estate for another party.


Another Larrabee Party

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Sabrina.**_ **(And that applies to either version of the movie, although I'm writing about the 1995 one.)**

"Another party," Linus Larrabee grumbled. "Well, keep the photographers away from me, will you, Sweetheart?" he asked his wife. He and his wife, Sabrina, were on a flight to New York from Paris. Since they lived in Paris and both their families lived in New York, they did this often. This time, it was for Linus's mother, Maude's birthday party.

Sabrina chuckled. "You say that every time we go to one of your families' parties. I still think you're very photogenic," she teased him, as she always did. Her husband _was_ incredibly handsome man, even though he was in his late forties now. The grey hair sprinkled on his head didn't bother her a bit. He just as handsome without his glasses as he was when he wore them. She loved his warm brown eyes either way. And Sabrina couldn't forget those adorable crinkles that developed on his face when he smiled, either.

"Maybe when you take the pictures, I am," he smiled and his face crinkled, as always. He leaned over from his seat to kiss her cheek. "Seriously, I just don't like it the way those media types make me look."

"I hope it's not because you're lonely anymore," Sabina commented as she squeezed his hand.

"Mama!" their five – year – old daughter, Annabelle, interrupted them. "I don't wanna listen to music anymore!" she whined, taking the headphones out of her ears, and shaking long brown hair a little.

"How about coloring?" Sabrina suggested, pulling a Sleeping Beauty coloring book.

"Je ne veux pas*," Annabelle pouted. Since her family was American but they lived in Paris, she used French and English interchangeably.

"A puzzle then?" Sabrina asked, sighing as she tried to come up with ideas. No matter how many times a year they flew to New York and back, Annabelle would always start complaining there was nothing to do. Sabrina supposed it _was_ unreasonable to expect a child her age to sit in one place for six plus hours. But understanding the problem didn't make it any easier to deal with.

"Je veux. See Grandpa!" Annabelle insisted.

Sabrina smiled despite herself. Annabelle sounded a lot like Linus when he was angry. "We'll see him in couple of hours, Sweetie."

"Would you like to play some games on Papa's computer?" Linus asked, after listening to the exchange for several minutes.

"Yes," Annabelle nodded, brightening.

As Linus pulled out his laptop, he whispered, "No. I'm definitely not lonely."

OOOOOOOOOOO

Several hours, two coloring books, three puzzles, four computer games, ten trips to the bathroom, and many thousand complaints later, they had finally landed in New York. (The plane ride also included two glasses of wine each for Sabrina and Linus.)

After retrieving their bags, Sabrina spotted her Dad in the waiting room. He was reading a book, as usual. Annabelle spotted him a few moments later and began running to him. "Grandpa!" she shouted.

Sabrina's Dad, Thomas Fairchild, put down the book at the sound of his granddaughter's voice. "Annabelle Lee!" he greeted her as he gave her a big hug. He always called Annabelle that because of Edgar Allen Poe's poem, "Annabelle Lee."

Sabrina smiled as she watched them interact. This made all the complaints and problems on the plane worth it. A warm feeling swelled up inside her. She turned to her husband and whispered, "Thank you for agreeing to this. I know it can be a hassle to fly back and forth all the time. But for our families –"

" – And for my Parisian American," Linus teased, wrapping his arms around her. He often called Sabrina that, because she claimed that "America was her country, but Paris was her hometown."

"Yes, of course," Sabrina agreed, loving the way he always teased her. The warm feeling inside her grew even more, so she wrapped her arms around Linus and gave him a big, long kiss.

As they drew apart, both of them tried to ignore a few bystanders who had been looking at them. Sabrina thought it was funny. In Paris, they were often known as "reserved" if not "cold Americans." Linus, in particular, didn't like the French custom of kissing both cheeks as a greeting. But here, in America, they were often seen as extremely physically affectionate couple, especially for the business class.

"Hi Dad," Sabrina smiled, finally greeting her father with a hug.

"Hi," he greeted both Sabrina and Linus. "How was your flight?"

"No more difficult than usual, Tom," Linus replied.

He nodded. "Are you hungry? Can I take you to lunch?"

"Yes!" Annabelle replied for all of them, trying to pull her grandfather's arm. "Let's go eat!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They all enjoyed lunch, which Dad insisted on paying, and they headed out to the Larrabee Estate on Long Island. There, the servants were all busy preparing for the party. The grass smelled as it had been freshly cut. White tables were being set out on the South Lawn. The cook, Rosa, was preparing cocktail dishes. Sabrina's stepmother, who was also the head maid, was busy making sure the main house was as clean as possible.

"Grandpa, can we go to the pool?" Annabelle asked as they entered the house. "My backstroke is a lot better than it was at Christmas!"

Dad paused for a minute. Even though he loved spending time with Annabelle, Sabrina knew he felt guilty watching all of the other servants preparing for the party while he did nothing. As he tried to figure out the proper answer to Annabelle's question, Maude suddenly appeared. She was sporting a simple white dress and a fine new bleached hair – do. Yet she still reminded Sabrina of the queen of England.

"Hello, Mother," Linus greeted her with a smile and a nod. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you, son. It's good to see you again. You too, Sabrina," she added, nodding to her daughter – in – law. "And Annabelle," she smiled and patted the five – year – old's head.

"Happy birthday, Grandmother," Annabelle told her politely.

"Tom, I think it would be a _great_ idea for you to take Annabelle to the pool. There will be plenty of time to make room for all the guests' cars later this afternoon." Maude commented, looking from her chauffer/in – law to her granddaughter as she nodded her head.

"All right then, Annabelle Lee, I guess you and I have a date for the pool!" Dad told her excitedly, now that he had been given permission from his boss.

Annabelle's eyes lit up. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" she exclaimed.

"Remember your swimsuit," Sabrina commented, taking it out of Annabelle's suitcase and handing it to her.

"Please use the indoor pool," Maude called after them.

Sabrina and Linus smiled as Dad and Annabelle disappeared down the hall, Annabelle skipping as she went. "I love seeing her happy," Linus commented. "The way her eyes light up reminds me so much of you." Sabrina looked back at him, knowing her eyes were lighting up right now. After a moment, he turned back to Maude. "Well, I think we need to get these bags upstairs, Mother," Linus told her.

"And then we need to lie down for a while if we're going to be up this evening," Sabrina added. "Jet – lag, as always."

"That's fine. I'm busy getting ready for the party tonight. See you both there."

OOOOOOOOOOOO

A couple of hours later, Sabrina woke up, stretching her muscles on the king – sized bed. She turned on her side to look at Linus, who was sleeping peacefully. His hair looked messy and imperfect, as always. She couldn't believe there was a time when she preferred David's picture – perfect hair instead of Linus's. Smiling, Sabrina gently ran her hands through her husband's hair. "We need to get up soon," she told him several times.

Linus mumbled something but didn't wake up. It wasn't that surprising. Getting him out of bed when they were in New York was more difficult than moving an elephant.

Sabrina pulled on his arm. "Come on. We need to get ready for the party, and I'd like to see Annabelle before she goes to sleep tonight."

Linus groaned and stretched for a minute. "No matter how many times we fly back and forth, I'll _never_ get used to the jet – lag."

Sabrina climbed out of the bed. "You probably won't. You're a creature of habit," she teased him. She picked up a towel from the closet in the corner of the room and prepared to get in the shower.

She heard Linus chuckle from the bedroom. "Well, there are things I can get used to. You taught me that."

"I suppose so," Sabrina called back as she turned on the shower.

OOOOOOOOOO 

Forty – five minutes later, Sabrina put the finishing touches on her outfit. She wore a sleeveless red gown complete with sequins. The red showed off the slight red tint in her short, permed hair. She opened her jewelry box and pulled out a small ruby necklace.

"Let me get that," Linus said coming up behind her and taking the necklace out of her hands. The back of Sabrina's neck tingled as she felt his hands brush against her skin and his breath on her neck.

When he finished, she turned around and inspected him. He looked gorgeous in his black tuxedo, although there were a few imperfections. But those made dressing with him even better. Smiling, she adjusted his bow tie and then ran her hands up and down his chest smoothing out the wrinkles that came from leaving the tuxedo in the back of the Larrabee closet for six months. As she continued, Linus examined Sabrina from head to toe, obviously admiring her. "I have to admit, I'm still not really a party person," he commented. "But you look gorgeous." He began caressing her arms.

"I know you aren't," Sabrina replied as she looked into his wonderful brown eyes. "But I love dancing with you. And I must admit, I get a little thrill at being invited. Attending them is a lot more enjoyable than watching them from the tree," she chuckled at the last comment.

"Well, I _do_ like dancing with you, too," he told her, leaning in to give her a warm, deep kiss. With that, the world disappeared.

When they finally drew apart, Linus moved them toward the door. "Let's go. We should say goodnight to Annabelle."

Sabrina sighed. He was right. "Oh, Linus, don't forget to bring your mother's birthday present to the party." They had bought Maude a fancy, prim dress from Paris. Sabrina knew it was just her mother – in – law's style.

Linus nodded and pulled a wrapped box out of one of their suitcases. "Right."

With that, they headed to Dad's apartment over the garage to pick up Annabelle.

OOOOOOOOOOO

A half hour later, Annabelle had been tucked in the bedroom across from theirs. Sabrina promised they would tell her about the party the next day, and Linus promised she could see her cousin, Andy, as well.

"Thank you for waking me up so we would have some time with her," Linus told Sabrina as they walked out of the bedroom. "Even though I didn't appreciate it at the time."

"Well, in a way I'm glad you're so difficult to get up here. I know part of it is the jet – lag, but part of it is because we're on vacation, too. A _vacation_ , Linus. There was a time when you lived here before that I didn't think you even slept, much less take a vacation." She took his hand as she finished talking, feeling his wedding ring brush against her fingers, marveling how much had changed.

He shook his head. "'Linus Larrabee' and 'vacation' didn't mix, that's for sure. Until you." He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her cheek.

When they exited the house and made their way to the party, Sabrina took a deep breath and held on to her husband. As happy as she was to attend the Larrabee parties, she was still a tiny bit nervous. She was far more comfortable being here than she was the time David invited her. But there was always a part of her that still felt like the chauffer's daughter playing dress – up.

"Let's get this over with," Linus muttered to her as he placed his mother's birthday present on the table where all of the other presents were located. "I just hope they don't make me talk to too many people." With that, he picked up two champagne flutes, which he and Sabrina sipped from as they whispered and took in the atmosphere.

"Linus!" screeched a woman dressed in a narrow, dark blue gown, about twenty minutes later. "I must talk to you. _Alone."_ Batting her eyes, the woman nearly dragged Linus into a corner. Sabrina knew not to be jealous. Her husband had _no_ interest in other women, no matter what this woman wanted to try. (Until he became interested in Sabrina, Linus had no interest in women _at all_.) Still, now what was she supposed to do.?

She finished her champagne and then noticed David near one of the food tables. "Hello, David," she greeted her brother – in – law. She was careful to keep plenty of space between them. Neither Elizabeth Tyson – Larrabee nor Linus were terribly comfortable with Sabrina and David spending time together. It was understandable, she supposed when Sabrina thought of the enormous crush she'd once had on David. And of course, David had once planned on breaking his engagement to Elizabeth because of Sabrina. Still, with Linus busy elsewhere, Sabrina wished to talk to someone she was close to.

"Hi, Sabrina. When did you guys get here?" He asked. Then took a bite of a finger sandwich.

"Around eleven o'clock, I think. New York time, that is." Sabrina paused and picked up a shrimp cocktail. "Are you and Elizabeth spending the night at the estate? Annabelle wants to see Andy tomorrow."

"Yes. Definitely. I don't want to be on the road after all the alcohol I drink at one of these parties," he replied as he finished the finger sandwich. Somehow without getting any leftovers on his face.

"That's good to hear," Sabrina nodded. Honestly, she knew why Linus and Elizabeth were uncomfortable seeing her and David talking, but she found it laughable that they once thought they could be a good couple. David agreed, she knew. He'd become attracted to her because he was so scared about making a commitment to Elizabeth. As for Sabrina, she had been in love with the _idea_ of David for so long, she didn't realize it wasn't real love. Until she started spending time with Linus, that is.

Seriously, she knew David seemed happy with Elizabeth now, but with his playboy past, she wouldn't be surprised if his eyes wandered to other women sometimes. Linus's eyes _never_ wandered. She also looked at David's face which never seemed to need wiping. At his perfectly trimmed hair and perfect white tuxedo. Nice, she supposed, but a little boring. She'd much rather have Linus's hair with its wayward strands and his black tuxedo that occasionally needed straightening out. In fact, she decided to go look for him right now. Perhaps he needed help "fixing his imperfections" again.

"See you later, David," she told him.

Sabrina walked about five feet before someone grabbed her from behind and pulled her close. "I finally got away from that woman, and then I find _you're_ talking to David. Why did you need to do that?" Linus grumbled.

Sabrina turned around to face him. "I know it bothers you, but it was just small talk, Linus. I just wanted to make sure they were staying here tonight so Annabelle could see Andy tomorrow. There is _nothing_ between David and me anymore." She began running her hands up and down his tuxedo, smoothing out the wrinkles he may have acquired in the last hour. When she finished, Sabrina reached up and pulled some wayward hair strands back into place. "Not like there is between us," she told him as she tugged his head even closer to her.

"Mmmmm," they both moaned as they kissed each other at the same time. They let their tongues slip into the other's mouth briefly, enjoying each other's taste.

"Come," Linus told Sabrina when they came up for air. "Dance with me." He led her to the dance floor, right in front of the live band and they began waltzing as the sun set in the background.

They had been dancing for about ten minutes when Sabrina felt a camera flash start to go off. She quickly moved them to a different corner, and they were able to avoid the photographer. As a professional photographer, Sabrina found it a little silly that her husband disliked people taking his picture as much as he did. Still, it was important to him that they avoid the photographers at the parties, so she tried to help him. Being a photographer herself, Sabrina often had a six – sense when they were nearby.

"Thank you," Linus whispered, kissing her softly as they continued dancing. "I think we avoided that one."

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Three hours later Sabrina and Linus had talked to several of the others including Maude (who loved her birthday present), the mayor of New York, several of Linus's business associates, and of course, the Tysons. Linus wasn't exactly thrilled with all the people he was expected to socialize with, but he handled it. Especially after a couple of glasses of champagne. They danced a couple more times. They narrowly avoided most of the photographers and still managed to exchange more kisses than most of the other couples there.

Finally, they made it back to the bedroom they were staying in, laughing partly from jokes and partly from the champagne. "I mean it, Sabrina!" Linus told her as they opened the door. He laughed again.

"I don't know," Sabrina replied, sitting coming in and sitting on the bed. "It doesn't sound very likely." She kicked off her shoes.

"Seriously, do you know _one_ good thing about jet lag, though?" Linus asked her after they both stopped laughing and he began taking off his shoes as well.

Sabrina began laughing again. "What could _you_ possibly think is good about jet – lag?"

Linus ginned at her, showing all those adorable crinkles in his face again. "Since we had to sleep all afternoon, I'm not that tired right now." He pushed Sabrina into a laying position on the bed. "And I bet you're not all that tired, either."

Sabrina laughed and pulled off his bowtie, and then his tuxedo jacket. "No, I'm not tired right now."

Linus reached behind her and pulled off her necklace, placing it on the nightstand. "Good." He smiled at her, looking right into her eyes. "I love you, Sabrina."

"I love you, too."

With that, prepared for a celebration just for the two of them.

*I do not want to.


End file.
